Best in the World 2012 Rematch Signed!

Could there be a more heated Proving Ground battle?

“I never gave up”

Those were the first words of Kyle O'Reilly to ROH officials in an e-mail earlier in the week.

“I never gave up”

What O'Reilly is referring to is his loss at “Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis” in the Hybrid Rules contest against now-ROH World TV Champion Adam Cole. It was a challenge that O'Reilly himself issued, an obvious attempt to humiliate his former Future Shock partner by “exposing him” as Kyle put it. As it turned out, with a mouth full of blood and the whole of the Hammerstein Ballroom behind him, Adam Cole was the one who humiliated O'Reilly when he captured that victory via Figure Four Leglock...a submission victory via tapout.

“I never gave up”

While it is true Kyle never said “I quit” or “I give up”, it is also just a matter of semantics as a tapout is considered a physical equivalent to uttering those words. Still, ROH officials were willing to give Kyle a chance to state his case but quite honestly what it amounted to was “I'm better than Adam Cole”, “I want another shot at Adam”, and “I never gave up”; not the most convincing case for O'Reilly but shockingly it was the argument of Adam Cole himself that swayed ROH officials.

“Give Kyle this match.” Cole asked when informed of the challenge, “Give Kyle this match if only so I can shut his whining mouth. He beat me in Florida, yes it was with a hook of the tights, but yet he was the one complaining and crying. I beat him in his own match in New York, I took on his challenge and I made him tap, and still he cries and cries. I would venture a guess that he spends his nights cursing the fact that I achieved championship success in Ring of Honor before he did too. It's sad what Kyle's become and for all those reasons I want this match just as much, maybe more, than Kyle.”

ROH officials took Adam's request into serious consideration, and agreed to make the match for our return to Charlotte on September 8th on one condition, a term that Adam was more than willing to accept, that it take place under Proving Ground rules.

“I am more than happy to give Kyle a chance to earn a title shot just like I earned my title match with Roderick. I know Kyle has the talent and the skill to be a champion, and I know that when he's fighting with all his heart, Kyle could very well beat me. But I am willing to take that chance and I will admit that this time, this time, my decision to accept is kind of like Kyle's Hybrid Rules challenge...I'm doing it to prove a point and maybe, if I'm totally honest, there is a little part of me that at this point just wants to embarrass him.”

It will be ROH World TV Champion Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly in a Proving Ground War at “Caged Hostility” on 9/8/12 in Charlotte! If O'Reilly beats Cole, or lasts the time limit, he will earn a future ROH World TV Title Match, and there have been rumors that Kyle O'Reilly is already petitioning to make this a Submissions Match but those are unconfirmed as of this writing. Hopefully we will have more on that potential stipulation soon but in the interim go right here in the ROH Store to get your tickets for ROH's return to Charlotte, NC!